Terry
Many thanks for your reply. I was not trying to suggest that you were out of step with the Tullett Prebon 'party line' (I hope and expect that there is no such thing) or that this somehow made you a hypocrite! I fully agree with your stance on independent research and am grateful for Dr Morgan's work (though of course I too do not always agree with it). It is frankly childish and emblematic of their lack of intellectual honesty that the media and political class cannot seem to grasp the concept that intelligent people within the same organization or movement can disagree on an issue without that being some kind of scandal.
I do sympathise with your point that one should not seek to give the whitehall machine any more money, ever, on the basis that it finds it impossible to do anything other than spend more and spend badly. My take on the housing situation is that a significant reduction in the tyrannical planning regime (and widespread deregulation) would be the best solution given the fiscal constraints. Imagine the howls of derision, though, from the NIMBYs (with politicians pleading special interest cases at the front of the queue)!
Philip
